Ecumenical cooperation, peace efforts, and European engagement were at the centre of a meeting between CEC President Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, CEC General Secretary Frank-Dieter Fischbach, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople–New Rome.
The meeting took place on 13 February 2026 at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.
During the exchange, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew underlined that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been a founding member of CEC and remains committed to ecumenical life and shared initiatives such as the Charta Oecumenica, recalling its roots in the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz.
CEC President Archbishop Nikitas highlighted CEC’s cooperation with churches in Ukraine to foster peacebuilding. The CEC leadership also thanked the Ecumenical Patriarch for his support for the updated Charta Oecumenica and for welcoming the CEC–CCEE working group at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in November 2024.
CEC General Secretary Frank-Dieter Fischbach expressed appreciation for the Ecumenical Patriarch’s participation in the 2023 CEC General Assembly in Tallinn. He also briefed him on CEC’s peace work, including the 2025 Helsinki conference, Resisting Empire, Promoting Peace, hosted by the Orthodox Church of Finland and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland.
“The meeting reaffirmed our shared commitment to unity and peace,” Fischbach said. “We value the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s historic role in the ecumenical movement and its witness for dialogue, justice, and reconciliation in Europe.”
They also noted CEC’s ongoing engagement with European institutions, including upcoming visits linked to Cyprus’s EU Presidency.
The meeting concluded with a shared affirmation of continued cooperation between CEC and the Ecumenical Patriarchate in promoting Christian unity and peace in Europe.
Source: ceceurope.org
